Hokuto Dairy?
It's a mid-level long standing business.
The position of Deputy Administration Manager is waiting for you there.
Toyo Daiichi Bank Tokyo Main Office
It's a borrower that's giving our Sapporo Branch trouble.
It's your job to promptly dispose of the bad loan.
- What's so funny? - Nothing.
I was just thinking that I, myself, was like a bad loan that's being disposed of.
Is that supposed to be a joke?
Anyway, I want your answer by the end of the month.
You're only giving me 1 week to decide?
You don't have to discuss it with your family, right?
That's what I heard.
Your performance as a loan screening department chief is outstanding, but...
you got too deeply involved in the top's power struggle.
That's a superfluous matter for a banker.
That's all I have to say.
Hello. This is Sagara.
Kanazawa Medical Center
Excuse me. Where is the Cardiovascular Ward?
She had a heart attack, but
she was treated promptly, so her condition is stable now.
Her condition should improve with cardiac catheterization. However...
"However..." what?
Just to be sure, we took a CT and found that
she has a very serious malignant liver tumor.
Is it cancer?
It has spread to the surrounding area and there's nothing more we can do.
At this rate, she has 3 months to live at the most...
You know... I don't have much longer to live.
Don't say such a thing.
There's something I want you do to for me.
I want you to shut down the kura (sake brewery).
For 5 years after your father passed away,
I barely managed to keep it going, leaving everything to the workers.
But I think it's about time now.
I haven't told you, but...
there's no more financial resources to keep the kura going.
The money we borrowed from the bank has to be paid back too.
But don't worry. If we sell the property and the building of the kura,
we can pay back everything.
Why didn't you tell me sooner?
There's nothing I can leave behind for you.
Yusaku-san, if you want to join your hands in prayer for Dad,
you can come here anytime.
I told the foreman everything I know about the kura.
You can continue to make the same sake.
Are you still upset over Ishikawamon*? (*rice grown in Ishikawa Pref. specifically for brewing sake)
I believe our kura has to continue making
classical sake that we refined just as we've always done.
That brewer's rice carries a lot of risk.
I'll take that dream with me to the other world.
Liquid
The Ogre's Sake, the Miraculous Kura
"Kagaryu" Todoroki Sake Brewery
Episode 1 Return of the Ogre
Welcome home.
Thank you for your many years of hard work.
The doctor says you shouldn't, but
you can have just one, since it's a celebration.
It's so quiet.
It almost feels lonely.
It's not...that lonely.
I'm used to it now.
Can't you still...
forgive me?
I know you're not the only one to be blamed.
"Yuki Otome" Sagara Sake Brewery
Good bye, Grandma.
Thanks for you help with everything.
I only did the natural thing.
Idiot.
Go wait in the cab.
Are you selling the place after all?
I'll keep the house, but I'm selling the kura.
Aina was sad.
She loved the kura.
When are you going to Hokkaido?
I'm planning to move by sometime next week.
If possible, I want to submit the divorce registration to the ward office before you move.
It's been 6 months already since we separated.
"When it rains, it pours," huh?
I've forgotten what you look like when you smile.
You don't expect me to smile at a time like this, do you?
It feels like you haven't smiled for years now.
For Aina or me.
I can tell the machinery and tools have been used with care.
They're a bit old, but
I think a small kura might be interested in taking them off your hand.
I'd appreciate that.
But still, it's truly regrettable.
Your father was a good brewer.
I was a big fan of Yuki Otome (lit. Snow Maiden, name of sake) too.
Sorry...that was unnecessary.
I realize that it's inevitable for sake breweries to close down because of changing times.
But there are still many young folks who'd like to
take over old-time facilities like this and try their hand at brewing sake.
I believe it's our duty to be the bridge to people who have a passion like that.
Taneda-san?
Oh...
I just came to pick up my personal belongings.
What's the deal on the brew for next year?
I'm in the process of making arrangements for everything. Please wait a little longer.
Please call me as soon as you can. I have to plan for my future too.
Shun! Come here.
Don't drink it, okay? Just smell the fragrance.
What does it smell like?
It smells like melon.
He has a good nose.
He's going to be a fine 3rd generation brewer.
I'm not going to carry on the business. I'm going to Tokyo.
- What are you going to be in Tokyo? - Salaryman.
That's awfully down-to-earth.
You be whatever you want to be.
But
don't forget this smell.
It's the smell of our sake.
Letter of Resignation
I wish you had turned it in sooner.
You're causing inconvenience to the company.
I decided to carry on the family business.
- The severance pay will be put to good use. - Is that right?
At any rate, good luck to you.
I've signed and affixed my seal to it.
I agree to the child support payment for Aina as you requested.
Thanks.
I decided to go home.
Surely you're not taking over the kura, are you?
A kura that doesn't make sake will die.
Any sign of the people who worked there will disappear too.
I don't want that to happen.
Tell Aina for me.
That Grandpa's kura that she loves won't go away.
Your heart is stable, but your diabetes isn't doing so well.
Your blood sugar level is up from last year.
We have to keep a close watch.
Ishikawa Prefecture Brewery Owners' Gathering
Hello. How's it going?
Todoroki-san. There's someone I want you to meet.
This is Todoroki-san, the owner of the kura that makes Kagaryu.
Pleased to meet you.
- This is the 3rd generation owner of Sagara Brewery. - Sagara-san?
- Ah, the Yuki Otome. - I've heard a lot about you.
When did you take over?
- As I recall, your father... - My father passed away 5 years ago
and my mother was operating the kura on a very small scale.
I was in Tokyo, so I'm a complete novice when it comes to sake making.
In that case, we'll be happy to support you.
It's our duty to back up young successors too.
That's great.
Having the owner of the No. 1 kura in Hokuriku as adviser will certainly give you peace of mind.
But Kagaryu-san, it must be hard on you
- now that Washio-san retired. - Well, no doubt, since
he was the mainstay of our brewery for many years.
He's a prominent figure not only in Noto, but also in the Japan Sake Brewers Association.
After all, his nickname is Ogre, you know.
He's the beast who was awarded the gold prize 29 times by the National Research Institute of Brewing
during the 35 years he served as toji (master brewer) for Kagaryu.
- 29 times? - It just goes to show you that
even an ogre can't overcome age and sickness.
Is Washio-san sick?
He has a heart problem... and he's diabetic too.
Is that right...
From now on, it's up to our generation to work hard together and
continue to energize Ishikawa's sake industry.
Well then, if you'll excuse me now.
All this talk about Washio just makes me sick.
They talk as if Kagaryu owes its success to that old geezer.
Now, now, why get all worked up over it? He's no longer around anyway.
Washio Yusaku's method is outdated.
We don't need a dictator in the kura.
May I have a taste of the sake Washio-san made?
Oh! Well, let's see...
Oh, this Yamahai (brewing process) junmai (sake with no additives) will be a good one.
This sake has such a clean delicate taste, it's hard to imagine it was made by a man called Ogre.
Even though it has a gentle taste like that of
spring water from the mountain,
the aroma of rice that spreads in your mouth is surprising, isn't it?
That's the skill of a master who has perfect control over the fermentation process.
Washio-san doesn't have the educational background, but
he was one of the first ones to bring into the kura
the practice of zymology that he learned on his own.
Together with the former president of Kagaryu,
he changed the outdated sake of the Showa era.
He's a revolutionary who changed the idea
of imbibing sake simply to get drunk to imbibing sake to enjoy the flavor and fragrance.
It's a shame to let him retire so soon.
15,000 yen?!
Washio
Why is the 3rd generation owner of Yuki Otome here to see me?
Well...
how should I say, uh... I came to pay my respect.
Respect?
Yes.
That was the most wonderful sake I ever had.
I was blown away.
Thank you.
...so?
At the risk of being rude, I have a request.
Won't you please take on the job of toji for our Yuki Otome?
I beg of you to make our sake!
Please be our toji!
I have a chronic illness.
I don't have the physical strength.
I'm well aware of that, but I'm hoping selfishly that
we could work something out while taking precautions with your health.
I can't grant your request.
Why?
Good sake cannot be made by sheer force of will. I have to refuse.
I've heard rumors that
the quality of your sake has deteriorated.
That's something the brewery owner's desire alone can't fix.
Kanazawa Bank Main Office
15 million yen, huh?
With that money, we can make our sake again this year.
That's a mere drop in the bucket.
I'm sure you know, but we've already given Yuki Otome-san a loan in the amount of 30 million yen.
We can't give you a new loan when you don't even have an outlook to pay back the old loan.
Please take a look at this repayment plan.
I don't mean to be disrespectful, but
that's our outlook for a business operated by an amateur who has no knowledge of sake making.
We've been doing business with your brewery from your grandfather's generation, so
it's not our wish to take drastic measures such as foreclosure.
However, we can't wait indefinitely either.
My mind hasn't changed.
However, I can't back down without doing anything.
- You're a nuisance. - I came knowing that I am.
Please take one taste at least.
I already told you I can't grant your request!
It's boring.
- What's boring about it? - Don't you even know that?!
If you're going to make sake like this, you might as well shut it down.
You've been reduced to
such a boring sake.
Listen.
Make sure you say your greetings properly.
Is anyone home?
- I'm sorry I haven't kept in touch, Shuichi-san. - That goes for me too. How have you been?
I apologize for not being of much help at the funeral.
I'm grateful for all the care you provided right until she passed away.
I owed a lot to Onee-san.
Naoki-kun, long time no see.
H-h-h-how... how...have you been?
It's embarrassing for a mother to be
looking for a job for her son who's old enough to take care of himself, but
Shuichi-san, you're the only one I can depend on anymore.
Naoki.
You ask him properly yourself too.
P-P-Please h-help...me out.
Naoki-kun. Can you go pour us some tea?
- Oh, I'll do that... - You know where the kitchen is, right?
Yes.
- Is he seeing a doctor? - Yes.
We were told it's a mild case of anxiety neurosis.
But sake making is strenuous and stressful too.
I thought he might make it as a brewery worker.
Why did you think so?
Call it a mother's intuition. Since my late husband was a brewery worker too.
He loved his father's workplace since he was a child, and
would go there to play all the time.
I can't forget the animated expression he had on his face back then.
He's not good with building interpersonal relationships because he's timid.
He was always bullied at school too.
I'm not asking you to hire him as a brewery worker from the beginning.
If you can use him to do menial labor or anything.
- Please, I beg you. - Oba-san (aunt).
Please raise your head.
Oh? Where's yours, Naoki-kun?
Oh...I-I-I-I'm... f-f-f-fine.
It's good...
Anyway, I didn't think a proud guy like you
Toyo Daiichi Bank, Kanazawa Branch
Assistant Branch Manager Yagishita
would let them demote you to a remote area without a fight,
but who would've thought you'd turn into a sake maker.
It was a one-way ticket anyway, so I don't have any regrets.
If you had sided with Director Nabeshima,
you wouldn't have been in this miserable situation.
But I guess it's no use talking about what's already happened.
In regards to the loan, I can endorse it as the Assistant Branch Manager.
Thank you.
You wouldn't come ask me for help if you could help it.
There's no pride left in me anymore.
Who are you trying to kid? Your expression's saying "You asshole."
Anyway, to sum it up, I can't give you a loan as things are right now.
Sagara Brewery has been accumulating deficit over the past 5 years and is up to its neck in debts.
A little bit of capital investment won't be of any help.
I can see why other banks turned you down.
- That's... - However,
it's not that there's no revival measure.
You mean...brand name?
Even I know the name of Washio Yusaku.
I knew it. You're still as shrewd as ever.
- I just... - Nab that legendary toji.
That's our condition for the loan.
Is he sick?
No, he just went for his weekly checkup.
If it's not too much of a bother, may I wait until he gets back...
Sagara-san.
Yes?
People call my husband Ogre.
Yes, I know.
It's not only in the kura that he turns into an ogre.
In order to make good sake, he can do cold and heartless things
without batting an eye.
Are you prepared to deal with that?
We had a son.
He had a gentle temperament, but as a result of being bullied in junior high school,
he shut himself in his room, and
when he was 25...
he killed himself.
Even on the day our son died,
my husband continued to make sake.
I'm in the midst of preparing Daiginjo (top quality sake).
I'll be there when I'm done.
Don't touch him!
Have you even tried to think why he killed himself?
Is it my fault?
He may have been a weak boy who was unable to live up to his father's expectation.
But still...
he's our one and only son.
- But you... - I have to go back to the kura.
Call me when the date of the funeral is set.
Ogre!
You're a true ogre!
He sacrificed all kinds of things and
continued to make sake for 58 years.
I wanted him to live like a human being
at the last stage of his life at least.
I'm sorry.
I didn't know the circumstances at all...
But...
he still has an ogre living inside him.
An ogre that has a burning desire to make good sake.
Please help him exhaust that ogre's desire.
So it's honjozo* this time, huh? (sake with small amount of alcohol added)
Shall I heat one up?
Don't be ridiculous!
I'll split one with you.
It's really been reduced to such a boring sake...
But...
it's a taste that brings back memories.
It's the sake we had at our wedding.
You remember, huh?
That man, Sagara-san. He sure is a funny man.
Why?
I'm prepared to sell my house and property if necessary.
I would happily get eaten up by the ogre if he can make good sake for us.
Will you wait 1 year for me to dedicate myself to getting medical treatment?
There's
one last sake
I want to make.
Washio-san?
I thought I'd take a look around the kura.
If I may be greedy, this spring water is too clean.
You need to take meticulous care of the mother water in order to maximize its goodness.
Just as I thought, this isn't the smell of the old koji (rice malt).
It's no wonder the flavor deteriorated.
Do you know the smell of our koji?
I remember very well the flavor and smell of the sake your predecessors brewed.
It's the sake that was served at our wedding.
Will you make sake for us?
Just for 1 year. Are you...
okay with that?
Please gather some brewer workers.
How many people...do you need?
Five should be sufficient.
- You want me to be a brewer worker? - Yes.
Someone else will be toji.
You've got to be kidding!
It's out of the question.
You know the most about this kura. It would be inconvenient if you weren't around.
I refuse.
We can get this settled in court, you know.
I took a close look at all the ledgers from my mother's time here.
Your embezzlement was quite easy to detect.
If you'd agree to be a hard working brewery worker
as a right-hand man to the new toji,
I'm willing to let bygones be bygones.
That
person who's going to be the new toji...
who is he?
It's Washio Yusaku.
For Yuki Otome?
- Are you sure about that? - Yes.
You're all going to cooperate with me.
Get the word out to everyone.
I would think 3-4 people wouldn't be a problem.
I'm sorry to bother you with a favor like this.
I'll look around too, but you should place an ad in help-wanted magazines too.
Yes, I'll do that.
But you sure made a bold move.
However, make sure you go through Todoroki Brewery.
Their 7th generation owner is arrogant and gets jealous easily.
Excuse me, Todoroki-san.
I was waiting for a good time to pay a visit to you, but
- actually... - Yuki Otome
hired quite a fine toji, I heard.
But I wonder if you're capable of handling him.
He's an old retired horse, but he's still quite unruly.
I apologize for not letting you know sooner.
Be careful he doesn't buck you off.
Oh, also!
Let each of us compete fair and square with our own sake.
I've never heard of knockoffs in the world of sake.
What did he come here for?
He probably couldn't gather brewer workers on his own and came here to seek help.
Todoroki-san, you're bad.
- He's giving you a hard time. - I'm sorry.
So...how did it go with the help wanted ad?
I received applications from a few people with no brewery experience.
Can you interview them with me?
Can I pour you a glass?
Will you please stop that?
What? Are you still mad about the last time?
I'll get things settled with my wife, I promise...
I'm sick and tired of both you and this place.
- You were the sommelier with that Premier? - Sommeliere.
That's a top class restaurant. Why did you apply for this job?
When I got my sake sommeliere license, I got interested in the sake brewing process.
- She may understand the flavor of sake. - I think you're getting a good deal.
I see...
I'm sorry, but I can only take so much.
It was for a short time, but thanks for your work.
Does that mean I'm fired?
Pack up and be gone today.
- A cook, huh? - Yes.
I've always been interested in the deep relationship between sake and Japanese cuisine.
They tried to talk me into staying, but I have no regrets.
- He can prepare meals for the workers. - I see.
Sounds like you've had quite a tough time.
Please help yourself.
What do you think?
A man who's seen hell is strong.
I see.
I'm glad you came.
I won't be giving you special treatment just because you're a relative.
Don't worry! You're the son of an outstanding brewery worker.
I want to make a new sake.
Rice is the life of sake.
How to wash it, how to steam it, how to make koji.
What normally takes many years to learn,
in 2 weeks!...I'm going to pound it into your head.
In this kura, I have absolute authority. You got that?